giving back

I mentioned a couple months ago that I wanted to start using this space for more than outfits, recipes, and inspiration.  I've shared a couple of fundraisers in the past, which I've run local 5k's for and asked for a few donations for those, and I may continue sharing those kinds of opportunities to give back, but in addition to that I'm going to start donating a portion of my ad sales to a different cause each month.  These causes will mostly likely involve empowering or protecting women as those are issues I'm more passionate about.  Some will be local to Tacoma or my home state/town, and some will be international.  Since not all of my readers would have a reason to purchase an ad, but still might want to support that month's cause, I'll also include a link where you can donate without purchasing an ad.



For this month I will be donating all small ad sales to Umoja Women, which is an amazing organization in Kenya.  I was introduced to Umoja through Half the Sky, and if you have a few hours to spare and a Netflix account, I recommend giving it a watch.  The following video is a little explanation of Umoja's history and mission, plus some incredible photographs by Siegfried Modola, a Nairobi based photographer.

Umoja is a village of women started in order to escape the violence and control of men. "In 1990, 15 women,allegedly raped by local British soldiers, and led by Rebecca Lolosoli, formed and registered the Umoja Uaso Women's Group with the then Ministry of Culture, Heritage and Social Services. They started by selling beadwork and other goods. After facing threats from men jealous of their success, the members decided to found a women-only village and reside together, thus providing collective security and cooperation." The Umoja village has had over 60 women and has grown to birth new nearby women's villages, such as the Nachami Women's Village, and recently Unity Women's village.  In addition to creating their own financial success and independence through creating beaded artisan jewelry and artwork, they are also committed to informing women about their rights, their health and healthcare, and helping women start income-generating activities, as well as providing a safe place to escape violence from men.


(photos by Siegfried Modola)
In a season when it feels like my culture's obsession with materialism is at it's worst, I feel like doing something to fight back, if only, perhaps, in one small way.  Instead of buying a bunch of things that I know we don't need, I'd rather give a truly meaningful gift to someone that actually needs something I can give.  I truly don't need anything more.  I have more than I deserve.  There are people who have less than they deserve and instead of just being annoyed with all the buy-buy-buy-spend-spend-spend ads on tv and online this time of year, I want to do something more.  
A Small Ad is $50 for 1 month and $80 for 2 months.  At the end of the month I'll tally up all the sales and donate (although I might actually do it throughout the month so we can see the progress!).  If you have no reason to get an ad but still want to donate, click here and you can donate online.
In addition to Umoja, I thought I'd mention that Musana Jewelry, a similar women's empowerment jewelry country supporting women in Uganda, has a two day sale coming up this Monday and Tuesday!  All jewelry in the shop is 20% off!  I've styled a few Musana pieces in the past and also hosted a Musana shopping party at my house, and they're an amazing organization.

giving thanks

(source)

step back

Tonight is one of those nights when I realize there's something in me that I really don't like.  I get this feeling in the pit of my gut, and I know.  I know that there's no excuse.  I know that I have to be a better human.  It's just laziness, really.  It's easy to sit back and let the entropy of my human nature render me a worse person than I was the day before.  Excuses are easier than the hard work of effort, but effort is what matters.  Effort is what shows people you love them.  I like to hide behind introversion, it's my go-to excuse, but it's a shitty one.
I guess this is a bit of a downer for a day-before-thanksgiving post.  I didn't set out to write a downer post, but then: the feels.  They came and they conquered and I knew they were speaking the truth.  I knew the feeling in the pit of my gut wasn't just a feeling, it was a message.  A wake up call.  
In a lot of ways I've been wanting to step away from the internet.  Not completely because it's 2013 and come on.  But the internet gives introverts like me this feeling like we're connecting with people, and sometimes we are.  Sometime's we're truly making deep connections with others.  But mostly, it's a lot of noise.  Chatter.  Endless voices saying nothing, constantly.  I love the internet for so many reasons, and so many corgi photos, and so many beautifully written posts and articles and videos, and so on, but I also feel this chasm in life between self-medicating with scrolling, and going out and making physical human connections with people in my immediate community.  The former is so much easier, especially, I think, for introverts like myself.  We can get lost in the endless voices, tweeting, commenting, replying, soapboxing, on and on.  We become part of a sea of nothing and everything.  


 


scarf/courtesy of yarn plus yarn :: coat(similar)/lulu e. bebe :: skirt/ruche shoes/seychelles courtesy of modcloth :: lace jacket (similar)/courtesy of lulu's tights/the stylish fox ::bag/courtesy of fossil top/courtesy of modcloth :: glasses/courtesy of bonlook :: necklace/handmade
Truthfully there are times, rather frequently, when I'd like to quit the entire internet altogether.  For all the amazing friendships I've made, connections experienced, solidarity shared, inspiration, and more, I can't help but feel like it's all not enough.  It's not enough to replace what is happening around me in my physical life, in my community, in my city.  I want to transplant friendships, connections, solidarity and inspiration into my physical community.  I want it surrounding me, not on a screen.  I know that the people online are actual people, and that those connections are real, but there's something different about the face to face connections.  I don't want to devalue the importance of those amazing online connections, but I've focused on the online connections to the detriment of offline connections.
It's so unnatural to step away from this online world.  My life has been built around the internet for five years, but it's starting to feel detrimental.  I'm pretty bad at multitasking, both on macro and micro scales, so in focusing on the blog/social media, my friendships and general IRL social life have waned.  Whatever you choose to feed is what is most healthy and it turns out I've been feeding my online life, not my IRL life.  All that having been said, I don't really know what it looks like to "step back" from an online life, as someone who works online.  Blog less?  Tweet less?  Have a paradigm shift regarding social media?  But maybe instead of trying to figure out how to manage my online life, I'll just focus more on my local life and just see how that impacts how frequently I'm online doing things.  Priorities!  

7 recipe ideas for thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is nigh!  I thought I'd pop in and share some of my favorite Thanksgiving friendly recipes for those of you still putting together the day's menu.  My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is getting to spend the whole day in the kitchen together with family, making and eating food.  I love the days when Dan and I get to cook together, so it's even more fun getting to do the same with my whole family.  I'm still not entirely sure what's going to be on my Thanksgiving menu yet this year (I should probably get on that, eh?), but I went back through my

Food + Drink archives

to get some ideas for possible recipes!

Cinnamon Rolls

for Breakfast!

Need something to hold you over till the big dinner, but not fill you up too much? Try a light

Mushroom Butternut Gruyere Tart

for lunch!

These 

Mushroom Chevre Crostini

appetizers are so delicious and easy to make!

A

Brussels Sprout Cheddar Bake

 is great as a side for the main course.

A fancy

Rosemary Old Fashioned

 is the perfect digestif for after dinner conversations around the table.

Try 

Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Icing

for dessert, or...

the classic: a

Pumpkin Pie

!

a delightful giveaway from modcloth!

Whether you want to kickstart your holiday gift shopping, or just want to treat yourself, $50 to ModCloth would certainly help, no?  Well today I'm partnering with ModCloth to give you the opportunity to do just that!  You've got a few different ways to enter, just follow the directions at the bottom of this post to enter and you're good to go!

I shared some of my favorite nerd-friendly gifts yesterday, but since I'm also a Corgi mama I couldn't resist sharing some of the cute Corgi gifts they have as well!  I may have already purchased the calendar... I couldn't resist having those adorable faces looking back at me on my desk!  I love the plush pillow too, mostly because this meme cracks me up.  

corgi calendar :: corgi socks :: plush corgi :: mug :: royal corgi tote
a Rafflecopter giveaway